Comments on: Jacquielynn Floyd Totally Pwns Dallas ISD

By: jody

jody — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:46:51 +0000

This policy may not affect the self-motivating student in competition for a scholarship or placement, but it most decidely will affect the marginal or disaffected student who wonders why in the hell he ought to even try. It will affect the student dealing with a broken home, wondering why he or she should stick to it when his parents have decided not to. It will affect the student who needs something from without when there is nothing within – which is most of us, since we all have days when we just don’t feel like it. And most of all, it will feed that awful part of human nature that compels us to do the least we can.

The saddest part is that there are many, many good people within DISD who get this slop dumped on them by association. Those of us who are old enough or have lived her long enough remember the catastrophies of past administrations, and administrators who opted to pad their resumes and their butts with mismanagement and largesse. The fear of failure is a powerful motivator – any 4th-grader knows that, or used to – but the staffers who concoct bilge such as this face little accountability. They simply move from this job to the next, devouring futures with their “experimentation” as locusts devour crops. High horse? You cannot raise performance by obviating excellence. Let me put it this way – would you drive a car built to the minimum safety requirements? Would you want a house that just meets code, or surpasses it? Would you prefer a surgeon who just barely got his license?

But none of this will change. If you can’t get parents to the PTA meetings or school plays, what makes anyone think they’ll help with the homework or even have any expectations of their own? What we have created is a culture that thinks everything should be given and not earned.

By: CV Gilkeson

CV Gilkeson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:08:30 +0000

Fools. Don’t you know that the focal point of DISD and other institutuions like it is to make sure the lives of its highly paid leadership are as easy as possible? Achieving rigor = hard. Less pressure for the kids = easy.

Congratulations on entrusting over a Billion Dollars to these guys. Great job.

By: Betty Culbreath

Betty Culbreath — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:51:58 +0000

DISD should be taken over by the State. The DISD Board is now planning to extend their terms to four years what a tragedy.The DISD Board does not have term limits some serve a lifetime. DISD will never win the Board Award there are to many internal problems.My last comment on DISD because its worthless and my largest property tax bill.

By: dazzling urbanite

dazzling urbanite — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:58:23 +0000

This policy is a result of schools and teachers being held responsible for the decision of families and students to drop out. I see all of you dog-pling on DISD for the drop out rates (especially when they affect the NCLB, AYP and TAKS rankings) but I haven’t seen you offering solutions.

I imagine this policy (especially if it works to keep kids in school) will spread like wildfire. So, get off your high horses.

These changes will not affect high-achieving kids who are already in competition for college and against each other for class rank.

Don, you should have investigated your schools. M-Streets are served by the excellent Stonewall Jackson Elementary. In fact I saw a Realtor advertising a listing in “Stonewall Jackson ISD” in Sunday’s paper.

By: the long-time teacher

the long-time teacher — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:21:19 +0000

And allowing parents to opt out of the policy won’t work because it would require teachers to keep 2 sets of grade books with extensive “proofs” for every entry. Less and less time to teach!

By: the long-time teacher

the long-time teacher — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:18:25 +0000

Do you know why Hino-hosedyou is doing this? He so badly wants the “Broad Award” for his portfolio (future job search) that he doesn’t mind shooting the teachers’ feet out from under them. Or making a DISD diploma worthless.

By: ERG

ERG — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:55:06 +0000

I am the parent of two kids in private schools. When the tuition bill comes around, my husband and I always discuss our options. In the past, we listened to people in our neighborhood describe the great things happening in DISD neighborhood schools and magnet schools. However, this policy is absurd and will hamper all DISD schools. If you learn nothing else in school, the concepts of showing up prepared and working on a deadline are two of the most important life’s lessons that will prepare you for the future. With these new policies, I am not even sure that DISD is preparing the next generation of fast food workers. Would DISD allow parents to opt out of these policies?

By: jrp

jrp — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:39:05 +0000

believe me, man, my common sense as an Irish Catholic yankee that grew up in the big city and the common sense of my wife, who was born a Southern Baptist in Dallas and grew up in the suburbs are diametrically opposed

so that’s tricky there, and i use geriatric to simply mean outdated and behind the times, which i believe Floyd, Ragland and Blow are

i’ve only been in Dallas three years, so i don’t have the deep-rooted and apparently valid bias many have toward the DISD, but i still feel it’s just sad to see

also i agree with most of you points, jody

By: chandler

chandler — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:20:19 +0000

Before i pitch an idea to management, I run through it as many times as I can. I try to see it from different angles to anticipate where people might object. The first step in this process is to explain the idea out loud to myself just to hear the words. Someone should have done that here because making school easier isn’t the answer at all.

What is probably the answer is less complex subject matter, or new ways of presenting material. If kids aren’t doing homework then that’s a problem well outside of aptitude and not necessarily indicative of a lack of learning.

I did as little homework as possible in high school. I had two jobs most of the time as well as other commitments outside of class. Three hours of homework a night wasn’t in the cards as far as I was concerned and my poor grades had nothing to do with not knowing the information.

Homework has too much emphasis when you consider that it’s practice. I’ve heard that it makes perfect but once you can isolate variables, doing it 50 times for algebra class in the morning may not be the best use of time. Not counting it as part of the final grade isn’t such a terrible idea, but allowing students to retake tests without a certain amount of required practice is what makes this whole plan stand closer to negligence.

By: jody

jody — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:05:37 +0000

Oh. I misunderstood the use of the word geriatric. You meant it metaphorically, as in anyone with a semblance of old fashioned common sense. True – I’m not especially stewardship we Boomers have shown, being that we may be the most narcissistic generation in history. Think of it – since 1941, our magazine choices have shifted from Time and Life, through Look and People, and now to Us and Self. Tells you where the priorities have been. Facebook and MySpace are just their children. So it’s no surprise that second-guessing insane philosophies might smoke out a few products of those philosophies – with evident disgust for any authority or structure not his own. Bulletin – human beings aren’t much different now than they were when we tried Independent Progress in the 50’s, or Continuous Progress in the 70’s. Some students will work hard because they are hard workers. Others will play grab-ass. I put two boys through the public education system for twenty years, and attended every ARD meeting, parent-teacher conference, school function, game, or fundraiser they had. I’ve coached and volunteered through the schools. I’ve paid the taxes and watched the results – or lack of same – and have been there at the board meetings. I have another child just about to enter that system – in a district that is far from being either affluent or exemplary. And being a child of teachers, I learned early that school is just one part of an education. Thank goodness. The “bias” against DISD has been earned, thanks to a long litany of abuses, incompetence, and arrogance – and academics who think what works in theory will work in fact, and dismiss any ethic involving accountability as antiquated. Chances are they went to school on a grant or daddy’s money, because they apparently have no idea that bills come due – and banks and employers aren’t “effort based”.